2014 U.S. Open Cup Round Two ‘Game of the Round’ Fan Notes

FeatureMay 14, 2014

The 101st edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup continues this week with Round Two of one of the nation’s oldest sports tournaments. A new USOC record will be set at the conclusion of Wednesday night’s matches, with the 24 games played in Round Two the most to have been played in a single round in the history of the century old competition, breaking the previous record of 18, which was set in last year’s First Round.

This time around, only eight First Round games were played by an aspiring group of amateur clubs, some of which will get to test their mettle against the 14 professional sides from Division III of the U.S. Soccer pyramid, USL PRO, that enter the competition in Round Two. In addition to the Round One winners and USL PRO clubs, a further 26 amateur sides enter the U.S. Open Cup in Round Two.

Throughout the competition, ussoccer.com will bring fans “Game of the Round” coverage of the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and Round Two features the Richmond Kickers (USL PRO) and Richmond-based RVA FC (NPSL). The match kicks off at 7 p.m. ET at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Virginia, and fans can join the USOC conversation on social media by using the hashtag #USOC2014.

The Richmond Kickers currently 3-1-3 record has the team sitting third in the USL PRO table.

The Kickers finished first in the 2013 USL PRO regular season, claiming the club’s first USL PRO title since winning two in the old USL Second Division.

George Davis leads the Kickers with five goals and one assist on the season. Other scoring contributors included Matthew Delicate, who has scored four goals, and Kyle Porter, who has three.

The Kickers are making their 16th appearance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, having won the competition in 1995 in their first appearance in the tournament and fourth season in existence.

The Kickers are the only team from Virginia to ever win the U.S. Open Cup.

Head coach Leigh Cowlishaw has been with the Kickers since their formation in 1993, playing for the squad until 1999 and becoming the first Kickers player ever to have his number (13) retired. He resides in sixth place on the Kickers all-time goals scored list (19) and seventh place on the all-time points list (49). He became manager in 2000 and was named FieldTurf USL2 Coach of the Year in 2006.

RVC FC

RVA FC was founded in 2013 and plays in the amateur National Premier Soccer League.

The team took first in the Mid-Atlantic Division in 2013 and went on to become NPSL Champions, defeating the Sonoma County Sol 2-0 in the final and finishing with a 10-0-2 record.

The club’s regular-season opener is Sunday, May 18 against D.C. United U-23s at 5 p.m. ET at Sports Backers Stadium.

Midfielder Todd Wharton was named to the 2013 NPSL Supporters’ XI and defender Nick Rich was named to the 2013 All-NPSL Team.

This is the first ever appearance for RVA FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Head coach Grover Gibson created RVA FC in 2013 following the creation of the Grover Gibson Soccer Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting soccer and the RVA Football Club as a youth soccer organization.

Gibson played in Europe from 1997 to 2009, totaling 18 goals before retiring due to injury.

As a youth, he participated on the U.S. U-17 and U-20 National Teams, and was teammates with current U.S. World Cup hopefuls Tim Howard and Nick Rimando on the USA’s 1995 FIFA U-17 World Youth Championships team.

Second Round

The winner of this game will play the winner of the Ocean City Nor’Easters (PDL) and New York Greek American Atlas (USASA). The winner will either travel to Ocean City or host New York.

There are 24 second round games being played May 14 across the country, as 48 of the 80 teams entered into the U.S. Open Cup are in action.